WELCOME BACK!
2021–2022 Symphony Season
BEETHOVEN RETURNS
Our 21/22 symphony season is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2021 — a joyous celebration of Beethoven that will feature many of the artists and programs we had anticipated experiencing throughout this season. Single tickets are available NOW! We’re excited to be together with you again feeling the thrill of live music with our orchestra and John DeMain in beautiful Overture Hall.
Single Tickets On Sale Now!
Buy single tickets to any of our 21/22 Symphony concerts, only through the Overture Center Box Office.
PLEASE TAKE NOTE
We guarantee a refund for tickets to any concert that cannot be performed for any reason. We will adhere to all public health guidelines and cooperate with Overture Center for the Arts to assure your safety. Programs, dates, and artists subject to change.
We understand you may have questions about safety protocols and what to expect this fall when we resume presenting live concerts. We’ve created a Frequently Asked Questions page to provide answers. If you have any further questions about subscriptions, single tickets, or our 21/22 season plans, please call (608) 257-3734, or email us at info@madisonsymphony.org.
Read Music Director John DeMain's message of excitement and anticipation:
Dear friends,
You know my enthusiasm when I share with you my plans for an upcoming season. But you can only imagine the excitement I am feeling in anticipation of reuniting with you and the wonderful musicians of the Madison Symphony Orchestra in Overture Hall!
Last season would have been an unprecedented MSO celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday, sharing his revolutionary music and his passion for freedom and human dignity. Although these programs have been on hold for a year, it is as important as ever to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions of this legendary composer. With that in mind, we are again offering the Beethoven celebration with a few surprises that will add depth and dimension to your experience in Overture Hall.
In the pages that follow (speaking of the new season brochure, which you can view online), you will recall international stars Olga Kern, Gil Shaham, and Garrick Ohlsson, who have been favorites in Madison since their first appearances with us. And cellist Thomas Mesa, whose Symphony debut was to have been last year, will have his limelight moment with the orchestra in the coming season. And, in addition to Beethoven’s works will be those by Mozart, Rachmaninov, Ravel, Haydn, Honegger and George Walker. Ferde Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite will be presented in a glorious multimedia production, and Greg Zelek will be featured in Saint-Saëns’ thrilling “Organ Symphony.”
I am also excited to present the MSO debut of violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins, who will perform Wynton Marsalis’ concerto in its Madison premiere. We have a magnificent array of vocal soloists joining the Madison Symphony Chorus throughout the season with Beethoven’s great Missa Solemnis capping these vocal performances.
Over the years, the orchestra and I have so enjoyed cultivating the special relationship that we have with you. And, indeed, we are touched that so many of you helped our musicians through this past year with your gifts to our Musicians’ Relief Fund. Now it is time for us to express our gratitude in music.
We can’t wait to be with you again!
– John DeMain
Music Director
APR. 8, 9 & 10, 2022
MISSA SOLEMNIS
Yes, Mozart was his inspiration, but Haydn was Beethoven’s teacher. Concertmaster Naha Greenholtz performs the Violin Concerto in G major. A great work from the height of Beethoven’s composing career, the monumental Missa Solemnis is one of his supreme achievements and one of the most significant Latin Mass settings ever penned.
John DeMain, Conductor
Naha Greenholtz, Violin
Madison Symphony Chorus, Beverly Taylor, Director
Sara Duchovnay, Soprano
Briana Hunter, Mezzo-soprano
Clay Hilley, Tenor
Kenneth Kellogg, Bass
MAY 6, 7 & 8, 2022
HIS GREATEST HITS
An all-Beethoven concert for the ages, charged with the energy and invention of the master’s Heroic Period and the spectacular pianism of a towering artist of magisterial interpretive and technical prowess.
John DeMain, Conductor
Garrick Ohlsson, Piano
OCT. 15, 16 & 17, 2021
RAVISHING RHAPSODY
Anticipate another mesmerizing performance from one of the greatest exponents of Russia’s greatest music. The Rachmaninoff Rhapsody may be the most-listened-to piano favorite of all time, while Beethoven’s “Eroica” (Heroic) is an important landmark in the transition between the Classical period and the Romantic era.
John DeMain, Conductor
Olga Kern, Piano
NOV. 12, 13 & 14, 2021
GRAND PANORAMA
The majesty of the Grand Canyon unfolds musically and visually in the spectacle of Ferde Grofé’s expansive musical palette accompanied by stunning projected imagery. Cuban-American cellist Thomas Mesa, a hit in his 2019 Madison recital, balances the program with the equally expansive and expressive Cello Concerto of Antonin Dvořák. Two Madison premieres, Arthur Honegger’s Rugby and Lyric for String Orchestra by African-American composer George Walker complete the program.
John DeMain, Conductor
Thomas Mesa, Cello
DEC. 3, 4 & 5, 2021
A MADISON SYMPHONY CHRISTMAS
Beginning with caroling in the lobby, and ending with the entire audience singing your Christmas favorites, this beloved Madison tradition launches the holiday season with our company of 300 artists.
John DeMain, Conductor
Stephanie Jutt, Flute
Elizabeth Caballero, Soprano
Jared Esguerra, Tenor
Madison Symphony Chorus, Beverly Taylor, Director
Madison Youth Choirs, Michael Ross, Artistic Director
Mount Zion Gospel Choir, Tamera and Leotha Stanley, Directors
JAN. 21, 22 & 23, 2022
PREMIERE DEBUT
In her MSO debut, the prize winning Ms. Hall-Tompkins performs the Madison premiere of Wynton Marsalis’ exciting Violin Concerto, a tour de force exhibition from the hand of America’s foremost jazz and classical artist. Preceded by Kabalevsky’s exhilarating overture, it is followed by Saint-Saëns’ majestic “Organ Symphony,” so-called because the addition of the organ in the final movement is an unforgettable sonic experience.
John DeMain, Conductor
Kelly Hall-Tompkins, Violin
Greg Zelek, Organ
FEB. 13, 2022
SINGLE PERFORMANCE
BEYOND THE SCORE®, STRAVINSKY: THE RITE OF SPRING*
A multimedia presentation starring American Players Theatre actors, visual projections and live musical examples with the entire work performed in the second half!
Kyle Knox, Conductor
James Ridge, Actor
Kelsey Brennan, Actor
David Daniel, Actor
Beyond the Score® is a production of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Gerard McBurney, Creative Director for Beyond the Score®
MAR. 11, 12 & 13, 2022
GIL SHAHAM PLAYS THE BEETHOVEN VIOLIN CONCERTO
The first piece of this varied program, Rachmaninoff’s evocative and powerful score depicts Arnold Bocklin’s famous painting of an oarsman rowing a white-clad figure across a dark expanse of water to the mysterious Isle of the Dead. The mood lightens when the Háry János Suite from Kodály’s comic Hungarian folk opera radiates exotic exuberance. Then the renowned Gil Shaham gives the crowning performance of the program when he breathes life and love into the Beethoven Violin Concerto.
John DeMain, Conductor
Gil Shaham, Violin
Thank you to our generous season sponsors
Wisconsin Arts Board funding comes with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club is the official hotel of the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
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Seating Charts
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